Water hardness

nickmoncrief

nickmoncrief

Small Fish
#1
Aug 14, 2010
21
0
0
Melbourne, FL
#1
Hello!

Quick question about water hardness.

I bought testing strips that tell me my water hardness in mg/L, but every fish website tells me their recommended water hardness for specific fish species in dH. Is there a conversion tool to fix this or am I completely stupid?

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks!
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#3
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#3
One degree of Hardness (dH) is 17.9 mg/L (or ppm). The test strips are not known for reliablility, however. What kind of fish do you keep?

Welcome, nickmoncrief!
 

Last edited:
nickmoncrief

nickmoncrief

Small Fish
#4
Aug 14, 2010
21
0
0
Melbourne, FL
#4
No fish yet, just got the tank set up and doing research. 75gal with a Penguin 350 filter. Bought a COralite (I think that's how you spell it) 48inch T5 light for plants (2 bulb). I know eventually I am going to need more filtration and probably, from what the shop owner was telling me, a little more light for plants that are high light dwellers.

Eventually my goal is I would love to have a handful of discus and handful of clown loaches. I kept clowns about 7 years ago before I moved to Florida and never picked the hobby back up. I figured it was too much hassle moving a tank to another state. Comparing them on aqua-fish.net it looks like there is a happy medium where I can have both. I know eventually the clowns will out grow the tank but that will take several years.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#5
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#5
If you buy locally bred discus, they may be adapted to harder water than what is 'normal' for them in the wild. However, if you plan on trying to breed them, it is a lot of work to keep the water correct. I breed a smaller fish from the same enviornment as discus, and invested in an RO water unit (makes coffee taste better too!). With softer water, your parameters are less forgiving. One missed water change or overfeeding or not noticing something died and is decaying can crash the whole set-up. I mix local tap water with RO water to get the right level of softness. I have to test the tap water each week since I live downriver from 'farm country' and the water make-up varies a lot from week to week, depending on how much rain has fallen and how much fertilizers are washed off the fields.

Make sure to look for plants that can tolorate the soft water and high heat that your discus will likely need.

Good luck on your research!
 

Last edited:
nickmoncrief

nickmoncrief

Small Fish
#6
Aug 14, 2010
21
0
0
Melbourne, FL
#6
I think I have ruled out discus. I would love to have them but I think I might be asking for more trouble than I am willing to accept. I'm going to employ the KISS method.

Although, if I get in to any situations where I am unfamiliar I could ask my upstairs neighbor. He saw I was carrying in my aquarium and stopped me and proceeded to tell me about how he used to keep fish kept them in line by administering punishment with the net. *sigh* I love Florida.
 

lauraf

lauraf

Superstar Fish
#7
Jan 1, 2010
2,181
0
0
Vancouver, British Columbia
#7
nickmoncrief said:
I think I have ruled out discus. I would love to have them but I think I might be asking for more trouble than I am willing to accept. I'm going to employ the KISS method.

Although, if I get in to any situations where I am unfamiliar I could ask my upstairs neighbor. He saw I was carrying in my aquarium and stopped me and proceeded to tell me about how he used to keep fish kept them in line by administering punishment with the net. *sigh* I love Florida.
Click to expand...
OMG, that's hilarious.
No, please Nick, ask us instead ;)

And welcome!
Love your sig too.
 

nickmoncrief

nickmoncrief

Small Fish
#8
Aug 14, 2010
21
0
0
Melbourne, FL
#8
Thanks, Laura.

I'm sorta an oldie. I used to lurk here around 2004/5 ish when I set up my first tank. It's funny to see how things change with time. I remember I made a n00b mistake with my tank back then and chose clown loaches as my first fish. Didn't work out so well. I had someone tell me to use Prime to save them, and it did. So any time someone had the same problem as I did I would post and sing the wonders of Prime; however, usually someone else would post after me and basically call me a heretic and false prophet of the almighty water cycle. After reading through a few posts now it seems like Prime is accepted. Ah, I can say "I remember it when..." so now I feel old.
 

O

OrangeCones

Elite Fish
#9
Feb 27, 2009
4,395
0
36
#9
I've used Prime back when I started in marine reefs in Florida. Best product and doesn't overactivate the protein skimmer like others did.

Anyway, welcome, and let us know your plans!
 

You must log in or register to reply here.